Star Trek VI  What If?
by Pixel and Stephanie Forever
Summary: What if members of Starfleet decided to rescue Kirk and McCoy from the prison asteroid? How would the conferance go then? Could they stop the assassination?


"_They've been arrested"_

"_I hereby assume command of this vessel as of 0230 hours. Duty officer so note in ship's log. Contact Starfleet Command, inform them of our situation and request instructions. Raise shields and began active scanning, but do not cross into Klingon space" the crew rushed to their stations and began to make sense of what had just happened._

#

"_Captain Sulu! Please report to the bridge. Captain Sulu to the bridge please_" the female voice conveyed the urgency. Sulu went to the nearest panel and pushed the button.

"Sulu Here. What's up, Janice?" Sulu asked.

"_We've received word that the Klingon Chancellor has been killed and that the Captain and the Doctor have been arrested_" and Sulu was thrown.

"It was an inside job?" he asked aloud. "Why would we be told?" then Sulu was hit by what Rand had said. "The Captain and the Doctor?" and he felt a terrible dread fill his insides. "Contact Starfleet Command, let them know that we are in a position to go in and get them back" and then after clicking off the comm he headed to the bridge.

#

"Where is the crew of the Enterprise?" asked the President.

"We're not certain, sir" replied Admiral Smillie. "We've tried to contact her for some time, but it seems as if she is observing radio silence. One of her last messages was that she was experiencing technical malfunctions. She could be having another one, but then again…" the Admiral left the rest unsaid.

"I understand" said the President. He understood all too well indeed.

"About Operation Retrieve" Smillie pressed the President, "I beg you to reconsider your decision. We have a number of ships waiting for your decision" but the man shook his head.

"I'll be one of the first to say that I don't believe for one minute Kirk ordered the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon, but if we go for him and Doctor McCoy then we risk war. Have the ships told to resume their normal missions" and the Admiral got up and stormed out of the office.

#

"Excuse me? Can you play that back please?" Sulu ordered. Rand nodded before replying the message on the main viewer.

"_Operation Retrieve has been cancelled. You are to resume your heading for Earth for repairs and reassignment. Toddman out_" and the image of the Captain blinked out. Sulu was furious but had no choice to follow the orders.

"Resume course for Earth, but engage at full impulse" and Lojur understood what his Captain wasn't saying. Sulu spun round to Rand and ordered her to monitor communication channels for any urgent messages from Starfleet. Sulu remained on the bridge for some time, before heading to the turbolift to get away from the tension. He had just reached his quarters when the comm chirped and Rand's voice filtered through on override.

"_Hikaru! Three Starfleet ships have just dropped out of warp, and their captains want to speak to you_" and Sulu was left to wonder what was going on all of a sudden. He left his quarters again and went to the nearest transporter room. A few moments after he arrived, three Starfleet officers had appeared on the _Excelsior_.

"Captains" Sulu greeted them. "A pleasant surprise. May I ask what you are doing here?" and the eldest of the three spoke first.

"Captain. You know by now that Operation Retrieve has been cancelled. We can not let Kirk or McCoy die in that Klingon hell hole" and Sulu agreed as he led them to the officers mess.

"I can not agree more, Sir. I served over 25 years under Kirk, and I can't just sit by and watch him be made a martyr. However we have our orders to return to Earth for refit and repairs. There isn't anything I can do that will change their minds back at Headquarters" Sulu sipped a coffee that he had ordered from the synthesiser along with another three for the visitors.

"That is why we are here" said one of another captains. "We all owe our commands and our lives to Kirk more times then we could ever repay him for. My fellow captains and I have decided that we will go in and rescue our guys" and Sulu looked at him.

"Where do I fit into this?" he asked.

"We wouldn't be able to pull this off without your help. The Excelsior class is a powerful starship. Yours is more powerful then the standard production models because of your failed transwarp drive experiments" said the third – this time female – captain. "_Excelsior_ could come in with us and inflict heavy damage on the battleships of the Klingons. Our ships could go in and take care of the rest whilst we send down security to take rescue the hostages" and Sulu thought this over for a while.

"We take heavy losses, if we don't all get destroyed that is" he said. Sulu owed Kirk and it took him only a few moments to think it through. "I'm in. We should try to contact Enterprise and discover her location. If we go into Klingon space, then we should go in with them" and the other three captains agreed with that. Once they had left, Sulu ordered a course set to _Enterprise_'s last known position at maximum warp and then talked to Janice Rand alone.

#

"I am about to commit a direct violation of our orders. Any of you who wish to object may do so now, it will be noted in my log" Sulu looked at his officers and crew on the bridge and none of them objected. Nobody called up on the intercom either, so Sulu sat in his chair and ordered the course entered into the helm manually and the warp drive engaged at maximum warp – all as ordered.

#

"Mr Spock" Chekov said. "There is a ship coming in" and Spock moved to stand behind him.

"I'm getting a hail from them. It's the _Excelsior_" said Uhura.

"Raise shields" Spock ordered calmly. "And verify that it is _Excelsior_" and it took a moment before the shields went up.

"I'm receiving a message from them" Uhura announced, and she put it on screen before Spock could say otherwise. Sulu's image filled the screen as it showed him on the bridge of his ship. Rand was standing in the background and smiled as she saw some of her old shipmates.

"_Sulu to Enterprise. We're here to assist y_ou" and there was relief on the bridge. Most of the bridge crew on Enterprise had been worried in case _Excelsior_ had been sent to detain and escort the ship to the nearest Starbase.

"Thank small mercies for that, Hikaru" said Chekov.

"_We all owe Captain Kirk, Pavel. I am willing to attempt a rescue if you are_" this last was to Spock.

"Logic would dictate that you are here in violation of Starfleet orders" he said.

"_Indeed we are. On route are three starships – all Constitution Class. With our combined power, we should be able to get to Ruha Penthe and storm the prison. Then we'll take the surviving ships all the way back to Earth and tell Starfleet what has been happening all this time_" and Spock frowned at Sulu's words.

"You had better come aboard" he said, and Sulu nodded before shutting off the transmission.

#

The senior officers had been talking for a while in the Officer's lounge when the alert klaxon went off. They raced to the bridge where Sulu ousted the crewman at helm. It turned out to be a false alarm as the other ships arrived. Sulu and the Enterprise's senior officers had only been expecting the other three Constitution class vessels, but it seemed as if they had brought friends along with them. Apart from the expected three, six other Constitutions had arrived along with a trio of Mirandas and a pair of nearly identical Soyuz class vessels. Seconds later came a couple of Orbeth vessels and it seemed like that was that until a single Saladin class destroyer appeared close to the Mirandas. In total there was nineteen vessels gathered in the area. One of the first things was to work out who was the senior captain. That went to Spock right away as he had held the rank of Captain for over 20 years. Next came the planning on how to divide the fleet up. After some working out by Scotty, the message was transmitted to the other ships.

**OPERATION RETRIEVE**

**Flagship:** USS ENTERPRISE

**Destroyer Group:** _USS Enterprise, USS Eagle, USS Excalibur, USS Lexington, USS Republic, USS Hood, USS Endeavour, USS Agamemnon, USS Prince of Wales, USS Roddenberry, USS Excelsior_

**Frigate Group:** _USS Miranda, USS Saratoga, USS Bittain, USS Mir, USS Soyuz_

**Scouting/Reserve Group:** _USS Columbia, USS Tchaikovsky, USS Odin_

_The scouting group is to get as close to the target location as possible, make several scans of the area and target location and then fall back to the fleet. USS Odin is to accompany the scouting group for protection. Group will also attack and disable sensor outposts to mask our approach._

_The destroyer group will then go to warp with an exit point in system. The Frigate group will also warp in system and take on the smaller Klingon vessels. Destroyer Group will take on the larger vessels and attempt to get through to the target. Enterprise will then beam up Hostages. At this point all ships will fall back to Federation space and return to Earth. During transit to Earth, all ships will assume as little radio traffic as possible._

"You do know that we'll all be up on Courts Martial if and when we get back?" Uhura said to Spock. The Vulcan looked at her with a hint of a smile.

"James Kirk and yourselves once risked your lives and careers for myself. I could not call myself your friend if I as not prepared to do the same" he said.

"For a Vulcan, Mr Spock, you seem to be full of emotion" Uhura teased him as only someone who had served over a quarter of a century together could. This earned her a double eyebrow raise, but her fellow officer said nothing. Instead he was looking at the doorway to the Officers' Mess. Valeris – his protégé – was looking very un Vulcanish as she hesitated on whether or not to come in the room.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" Spock said.

"Sir, I come to you as someone who has committed treason against the Federation" the soft female voice said. The two senior officers looked at each other before Spock ordered her inside. For the next hour she told her tale of how she had been recruited by Admiral Cartwright and other members of the Admiralty. Only her years of service could let Uhura know that Spock was angry inside.

#

"Enterprise reports that the fleet is lined up and ready to go. Transporter Rooms 1, 2, 3 and 4 report that Security teams are standing by to beam down" Rand reported to Sulu.

"Very well" Sulu said. "Plot a course to target, and enter it into the navigational computer" Lojur nodded and he and the navigator did their jobs as they took Excelsior to warp speed on a certain course and at a certain speed.

#

The fleet sailed at great speed across the stars and approached their target area. They dropped out of warp and immediately locked on to their individual vessels. The sixteen vessels of the main fleet hit the Klingon forces surrounding Ruha Penthe very hard. But the Klingons called for reinforcements which came in the shape of a dozen D7s and K'Tingas. Despite the other Destroyers and the Frigates, Enterprise took a great deal more then its share of the assaults. With the addition of the scouting party, all they had to do was to hold on long enough to pick up Kirk, McCoy and the security teams on the surface. As _Enterprise_ swung around to attack a pair of cruisers, there was the most brilliant explosion which blinded the bridge crew.

"Report!" said Spock over the din of the alarms.

"We've lost four of our ships. The Klingons took their ships close to ours and then self destructed. _Odin_ and _Columbia_ are losing structural integrity and are abandoning ship" Chekov said.

"Klingon battleship to starboard" said the helmsman.

"Take that" Chekov muttered darkly, and he fired a full spread into the opposing vessel's starboard flank. They tore through the ship shredding hull and flesh alike. The Enterprise traded blow for blow with the Klingon cruisers but it was 5 versus 1 and the ship was losing the fight.

"Shields down to 37 percent. Hull breaches on Decks 4, 7, 8 and 21" Scotty reported.

"Seal those sections with emergency bulkheads" Spock shouted over the noise of another impact.

"Aft shields down to 15 percent" Chekov said.

"Keep our bows to the Klingons" Kirk said.

"You better believe it, Captain" the helmsman said. The man was now sporting a small cut to her head from when he had been thrown against the bulkhead, but he was perfectly alright all the same. Another hit caused several of the rear workstations to blow out and one crew members was thrown over the railings, and Uhura called for the medics before tending to him.

"We have lost aft torpedoes and aft shields" Scotty said. "Hull integrity is at 68 percent" he said after another impact from Klingon weapons.

"We have to cut the odds down" Spock said. "Mr Chekov. Target the warp disabled vessel and fire a full spread of torpedoes at the core itself. Keep our aft quarter away from Klingon targeting solutions" he ordered.

"Hull breach on Decks 15 through 19" Scotty sounded as if he was calling out the death of a family member.

"Seal off those areas and vent them to space" Spock ordered as the medical team removed the crew member from the bridge.

"Done" said the engineer,

"Weapons locked on target" Chekov said.

"Fire at will!" Spock shouted, and the bridge crew decided to ignore he had been shouting. Phasers and torpedoes lanced out hit the ship that the Enterprise first hit, and hit their targets. With a sudden white, blinding light the ship was gone in a massive explosion that rocked the Enterprise. It knocked most members of the bridge off their feet or out of their seats.

"The explosion has destroyed the two flanking cruisers" said Chekov. "One of the other cruisers has lost main power and is no longer a threat at this time" he said after a moments pause. "Forwards shields are at 25 percent. We have lost our forward phaser banks" he added.

"_Engineering to Bridge_. _We can't take too many more torpedoes or we will suffer serious damage_"

"Understood" said Spock, and he thought he heard the sound of Scotty rushing down to the engine room. Smoke was beginning to fill the bridge and Uhura had the ventilation grid set to full. When she looked at her board, she saw that the success signal was flashing on and off.

"THEY'VE GOT THEM!" she said over the noise.

"Signal all ships to prepare for a withdrawal" Spock ordered, and the communications officer went to her task with pleasure. Moments later she reported that Kirk, McCoy and all of the security teams had been beamed aboard. Chekov took the nav again and plotted the course to get them back to the Federation territory. Most of the ships made it out. Those that couldn't had either been destroyed, disabled or otherwise abandoned. Their crews had been left behind but the ships set to Self Destruct. Scotty called it the Genesis Strategy.

"Kirk to Bridge. Status report!"

_'Spock here, Captain. Our escorts are engaged with four Klingon warbirds which have followed us back from their space. One got through the line and has started shooting at us. Shields are up but only at 67 percent_' Spock said as the ship lurched to avoid weapons fire.

"I'm on my way. Kirk out" and Kirk ran out of sickbay for the nearest turbolift.

# # # # #

"Report" Kirk ordered as he stepped on the bridge for the first time in what seemed like a life time.

"Four Klingon ships followed us under cloak. They have just opened fire on us" Spock said. "The Fleet has sustained heavy damage, and we ourselves are operating on mostly Emergency power. Mr Scott is using the main power to power only our warp drive" added the Vulcan. "In total we have lost seven of our ships, and a further four are heavily damaged. Their Captains are going to attempt to reach Federation space before stopping to affect repairs. It is unlikely that the Klingons will pursue us past their borders" then Spock placed a hand on Kirk's shoulder. "Welcome home, Jim" and Kirk smiled before taking the seat he had given up on seeing again. He and McCoy should have gone down to sickbay to be treated, but his place was on the bridge and McCoy had tagged along as well. The Federation ships – those that remained – fled Klingon space like a fox being chased by the hounds, and the Klingons turned away at the border as Spock had predicted. The fleet headed to the nearest planet to take stock of the situation.

"We're being hailed" Uhura said, "On screen" and Sulu appeared with a broad grin on his face.

"_I'm glad to see you are alright, sir"_ he said.

"Captain Sulu! As much to the crew of the _Enterprise_, I owe my thanks to you and the fleet" Kirk had only ever been this full of adrenaline during battles.

"_You've saved our lives on many occasions. When Starfleet Command cancelled the operation to retrieve you and the Doctor, some other Captains came to me with an idea to get you back_" and Sulu went on to explain everything.

# # # # #

A meeting of the surviving Captains took place on the _Enterprise_ to discuss what to do next. Knowing that the Peace Conference would be taking place the following day, it was decided to attempt an intercept of the President's transport with what remained of the Destroyer Group. The Frigates would escort the severely damaged ships to Starbase 24 where they would alert the authorities as soon as they came within real time communications range. _Enterprise, Excelsior, Eagle_ and a number of the other Destroyers took the engineering crews of those ships that had been destroyed as well as poaching members from the ships that had survived. They needed everyone they could get to repair as much damage as possible. On the way to the intercept point, the senior officers met to discuss the story Valeris had told to Spock and Uhura earlier.

# # # # #

"We are detecting a large number of ships approaching us" said the science officer.

"Can you identify?" asked the Captain.

"Yes sir" replied the officer. "Four _Constitution_ class vessels and one _Excelsior_ class vessel. They are now within visual range" and she put the image up on the screen before being asked to.

"All stop and raise shields" the Captain ordered. "Open a channel" he said to his communications officer – a strikingly beautiful Andorian.

"Channel open" she said.

"This is Captain Dylan Hunt of the _Andromeda Ascendant_. Please respond" and a moment later the image of the most legendary Captain in the fleet appeared on his viewscreen.

"Enterprise _to_ Andromeda. _Please note that we are running only with our shields up. It is urgent that we speak to the President at once. There is a conspiracy to assassinate both the President and Gorkon's daughter_" Kirk said. Hunt looked to his science officer who nodded to confirm that only the shields were up.

"How can I be certain that you are not part of this, Kirk? Give me some proof that you are telling the truth" and Hunt's request was not unreasonable. Kirk looked off the viewer for a moment before the image pulled back to show Valeris stood surrounded by security.

"_Will that do you?_" asked Kirk. Hunt nodded and then arranged for Kirk, Sulu and the other Captains to beam over to talk with the President. After the hours of talking to him in private with only Admiral Similie in attendance – along with Captain Hunt – the President ordered a message sent to the Klingons telling them exactly what had happened along with all of the information they had.

#

Admiral Cartwright had not gone with the President aboard the _Andromeda Ascendant_ having chosen to go on the transport with the other members of the top brass. He assumed that the soon to be dead President was on Kithomer, and so he was surprised to see the President storm in to his office with Admiral Simile and Captains Kirk, Spock Scotty and Sulu right behind him. A team of armed security officers came in next and surrounded the startled Admiral.

"Admiral Cartwright. It has been brought to my attention that you have plotted high treason against the Federation and also to assassinate myself and the chancellor of the Klingon Empire. You have already done that to the previous holder of that office" the President had never been more angry in all his life.

"You can not prove anything" sneered Cartwright.

"Oh but we can" said Kirk and with glee told him of Valeris's admission of guilt. The President had already given her a pardon for uncovering the entire plot

"You are hereby charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to commit murder, high treason, conspiracy to overthrow the lawful government and anything else the JAG can throw at you" the President said.

"I'd throw the whole book at him" said Scotty with disgust. There was a general air of agreement from the other officers as they watched Cartwright being pulled out of his office by the security officers. But trouble came when they attempted to warn the Klingons. No matter how hard they tried, Starfleet Command simply could not get a message through. Something or someone was jamming the transmission.

"Sir, I think we had better go ourselves" Kirk said. "_Enterprise_ is damaged but we can fix the rest of it on route. Azetbur will not believe you unless you tell her the situation" and the president thought about it. With the time spent going back to Earth, it would be better if he was to travel to the conference by _Enterprise_ which was able to cover the distance at Warp 9.2 all the way.

#

"Sir! There are two Federation vessels entering sensor range" reported the sensor officer.

"Those will be the blundering fool of a Federation President and the escort he deserves" Chang said.

"I am not so sure, sir. I'm reading a _Constitution_ class vessel and one of those new _Excelsior_ vessels" replied the officer. "According to these readings, they have come in with shields raised and weapons activated" and Chang stiffened in his chair.

"Come to combat stations. Bring the ship about and prepare to engage the enemy" he ordered. The already dim lighting darkened more, and the tactical officer started programming the torpedoes to fire at both Federation ships. Chang thought of something, and then ordered his communications officer to force a transmission through to the starships. The female warrior replied that both vessels had begun broadcasting a message as soon as they had entered sensor range. Chang looked at his fellow conspirators and then ordered it played on the speakers.

'…_Repeat – this is President Ra-ghoratreii. General Chang is attempting an assassination of Chancellor Azetbur. Although we are running with shields and weapons activated, we will not fire unless fired upon. If anyone is listening to this, then please respond on this channel…_'

"GET THAT BLOCKED" Chang thundered so loud the bolts in his eye patch rattled. Overriding the tactical station, he slammed his button on the fire controls.

#

"Torpedo incoming" said Chekov.

"Port drive all astern. Starboard rive all ahead full" Kirk ordered. The _Enterprise_ swung round on a pivot as _Excelsior_ shoot the torpedo with phasers. "Locate the origin and fire" he added. Spock and Chekov worked together before the Russian sent a trio of torpedoes into the target. When they failed to hit anything they hit the area with every sensor system the pair of ships boasted. Chang got the idea soon, and his cloaked Bird of Prey fired a torpedo at _Enterprise_'s bridge. It knocked the helmsman out of her seat and she hit the floor hard – knocking her unconscious.

"Medical team to the bridge" Uhura said into the intercom.

"Incoming" said Chekov. Torpedoes came faster then what anyone could have expected. Kirk was about to take the helm himself when a tall figure brushed past him, sat at the console and swung the _Enterprise_ from most of the torpedoes whilst Chekov and _Excelsior_'s tactical officer shot the torpedoes out of the stars.

"Signal the conference again. Tell them that we need immediate assistance. Broadcast our message again…" but Uhura cut off her captain.

"The Klingons are jamming everything" she said, and then she seemed to think of something. "I'm not a weapons expert but couldn't we modify a torpedo to track down the source of the jamming?" and Spock looked surprised that he had not thought about it himself. He headed down to the torpedo room with McCoy in tow – making a stop at the first science lab they came to pick up some equipment.

"_Excelsior_ moving to starboard" Chekov said.

"Bring us about and put us alongside" Kirk ordered.

"Aye, Captain" said the new helmsman. Kirk was surprised to see that the President was at the console.

#

"Lock on to _Enterprise_'s engineering section and fire" Chang ordered. The tactical officer nodded and pressed the buttons on his console.

#

"Incoming" Chekov cried out, and then at almost the same time they were sent tumbling from their seats. Smaller shakes could be felt as _Excelsior_ fired phasers just below and to starboard of _Enterprise_. To the surprise of everyone on both ships, a small piece of hull appeared and floated away.

#

"Damage report" said Chang.

"It was a minor hit on our starboard wing" said his engineer. "We are still fully operational" and Chang was impressed by the hull strength of his modifyied Bird of Prey. What he was not impressed by was the report from his tactical officer.

"D-7 battle cruisers incoming" and the viewscreen switched from the sight of _Enterprise _and _Excelsior_ moving around, to one of a flight of D-7s coming into the system. "_Kronos One_ decloaking to aft"

#

"Klingon ships incoming" said the crewman who had taken Spock's place.

"Status?" Kirk asked.

"Their shields are up and weapons are activated. They haven't targeted us I think" replied the crewman.

"Warp Drive is just about working" said Scotty. "_Excelsior_ would have to stay behind to cover our retreat" he added. Everyone knew that would be a virtual death sentence for all onboard.

#

"Lock torpedoes onto each of the ships then move to another position" Chang ordered. Red balls of destruction came from the ship, and then it turned to move away to another location. The newly arrived Klingon vessels blanketed the area with phaser and disrupter fire and they managed to knock the cloaking device offline.

"We've been revealed" cried one of the other Generals onboard.

"Do not worry, my friend" Chang said calmly. He gave orders for the second cloaking device to be brought online, and once again the ship was invisible.

#

The torpedo struck through the hull of _Enterprise_ despite the best efforts to shoot it down. Spock and McCoy felt the heavy rumble and shake of the destruction.

"The hull has been compromised" Spock said.

"I wonder how bad" McCoy replied. Together they worked hard on altering the torpedo, and McCoy looked up to see the launcher nearly in front of them.

"We have finished" Spock said. McCoy knew this might be the one of the last times to get one on Spock.

"Thank you Nurse" and he shut the torpedo hatch and locked it.

#

"Damn it" Kirk said as he saw the vessel vanish again, then had Uhura put him through to the torpedo room. "Bones! Where's my torpedo?" he asked.

"_She's ready Jim! Lock and Load_" came McCoy's voice.

"FIRE!" Kirk yelled, and Chekov pressed the button and a single torpedo launched from _Enterprise_ and started darting all over the place.

#

Chang could appreciate the desperate firing of a torpedo by Kirk, and he silently saluted his opponent and then was surprised as the torpedo headed in his direction. He ordered his helmsman to move the ship out of the way, and the torpedo sailed by, turned and came back towards them.

#

"Prepare to fire" came the order on all of the ships.

#

Chang looked at the torpedo and knew what Kirk had done. This was not any dishonour by being beaten by Kirk.

"To be, or not to be…" he said, and then the torpedo hit the engineering section and destroyed the second cloaking device and all main power to the Bird Of Prey

#

"FIRE!" Kirk repeated his order as the President swung _Enterprise_ into position for maximum use of phasers and torpedoes.

#

"Target that explosion and fire"

#

"qul Dag chaH DaH" came the order on the Klingon vessels. Ships of two different peoples fired every available weapon to the Bird of Prey which exploded in a kaleidoscope of fire and debris. The Klingons vaporised every piece of debris that was bigger then an atom.

#

"Stand down from Red Alert" Kirk ordered. "Bring us alongside and in front of the _Excelsior_" he added as he sat into the command chair.

"Aye, sir" replied the President. "Rudder at Z Plus five degrees" and the battered but victorious _Enterprise_ swung around and assumed formation with her fellow Starfleet vessel.

"We are being hailed by multiple ships" said Uhura.

"Is _Kronos One_ one of those?" asked the President.

"Yes sir" replied the woman.

"Put them on first please" and Uhura did as she was asked. The image of Azetbur herself appeared on the main viewer. The rest of the _Kronos One_ bridge crew was watching the humans. For some of them, this was the first time they had ever seen

"_Mr President_" she greeted. "_I am pleased to see you survived. We managed to get some of your message. I alerted the nearest ships, and led them myself. We must talk about what has happened here this day. We will have to decide upon a new date for the peace conference to start on_" and to her surprise, the President shook his head.

"I think it would be better if we was to start at once, Madam Chancellor. What better way to start talks then after a great victory? A victory won by both our peoples…" the President could see that he had said the right words by the way the Klingons in the background reacted.

"_It seems as if we have started to rid ourselves of anger and hate already_" Azetbur said. "_A pity that we will not know what General Chang planned for when he took over. I would have liked to have known what was the meaning of all of this_" and Kirk stood from his seat and moved around the Helm and Navigation console top stand in front of the viewer. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Spock and McCoy come up with burn marks on their uniforms.

"It's about the future, Madam Chancellor. Some people think the future means the end of history. But we haven't run out of history just yet. Your father quoted Hamlet: he

called the future - "the undiscovered country"…"

"I always assumed Hamlet meant death" Spock said from the starboard bridge area.

"Gorkon thought the undiscovered country might mean something else - another kin of life. People can be very frightened of change. I know I was" Kirk admitted. "When we boared your ship when your father was dying, you saw us trying to save his life. He was one of the last best hopes for peace. I was saddened for his loss, and you have my condolences Madam Chancellor.

"_You've restored my father's faith_" said Azetbur.

"And you've restored my son's" replied Kirk said quietly. The silence was only punctured by the humming of the extractor fans trying to clear the smoke from the bridge and the soft humming and beeping of consoles.

"_If you would be willing to board my ship, Captain, I believe there is a human custom of toasting the dead_" Azetbur said.

"I would be honoured, Madam" Kirk said.

"_Beam aboard at your discursion_" and then she vanished. Kirk looked at the star field which had the Klingons assume an honour guard around _Kronos One_. As he, the bridge crew and the President watched, two of the D-7s came about, brought themselves alongside _Enterprise_ and _Excelsior_ and hung of the port and starboard beams.

#

Several Federation ships arrived the following day to provide joint cover with the Klingons. Kirk, Sulu and each and every one of their crews received the highest Klingon medals. The same would apply to those ships and personnel who had helped to prevent the assassination. Even at this early stage of proceedings, things seemed to be coming along quite well. Scientists on both sides had started talking about using variations of Terraforming to bring back the atmosphere of the Klingon Homeworld. Everything though was over for _Enterprise_ and Kirk and his senior staff took the bridge. Uhura saw a message was waiting, and played it over the speakers.

'_From Starfleet Command to _USS Enterprise_. You are hereby ordered to return to Starbase 1 for decommissioning. This is a direct order_'. The senior staff looked at Kirk who slowly sat in the command chair.

"After all that we just did" said McCoy.

"If I were Human, I believe my response would be 'Go To Hell' – If I were human" Spock said.

"Course heading, Captain?" asked Chekov. Kirk didn't reply for some time, but then a broad grin filled his face.

"Second star to the right, and straight on till morning" he said.

_Enterprise_, her hull blackened with torpedo scars and sporting hull damage, made her way serenely through Klingon space – safe and unchallenged.

**A/N:**

**Hope you like my Star Trek VI one shot. I've often wondered what would happen if some of the fleet had decided to launch Operation Retrieve even though they had been given the stand down orders.**

**Ship Names: Noticed that there seemed to be a lack of ship names or classes for the UK. Exemptions being the Yorkshire Class, Hood and other vessels. I've equalled that out a bit, and also added a ship named after the great bird of the galaxy, and one after another of his creations.**

**In case you wondered why the President would take the helm, it's a reference to Star Trek IV which had an Efrosian helmsman.**

**Anyway – Hope you liked this one off.**

**Pixel **


End file.
